Page 80 - Afghanistan

Jaishankar, President Ghani exchange views on peace process in Afghanistan

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday called on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani here and shared India's perspectives on the peace process in the war-torn country. Jaishankar is here in the capital of Tajikistan for the 9th Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) ministerial conference to be held on Tuesday. "Honour to call on President @ashrafghani before the commencement of @HeartofAsia_IP Conference. Shared our perspectives on the peace process," Jaishankar tweeted. Last week, Jaishankar said that India would like to clearly see a sovereign democratic and inclusive Afghanistan that takes into account the interests of its minorities. "There is something called the peace and reconciliation process and everybody else is saying that the Taliban is reaching out and changing etc. Let us wait and watch," he had said. The Taliban and the Afghan government are holding direct talks to end 19 years of war that has killed tens of thousands of people and ravaged various parts of

Hard to meet May 1 deadline to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan: Biden

United States President Joe Biden said it is going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline to pull out US troops from Afghanistan as per the deal made during the Donald Trump administration

Seek to expand ties in interest of both nations: Afghan Min on India visit

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mohammad Atmar said he came on the visit to India to discuss bilateral relations between Delhi and Kabul and to look at ways to expand ties in the best interest of the two

Peace and Pakistan

The besieged country looks for a breather

7 killed, 3 injured in various security incidents in Kabul in 24 hours

Seven people were killed and three others injured in various security incidents in the last 24 hours in Kabul

Situation in Indo-Pacific, Afghan peace process figure in India-US talks

The strategic situation in the Indo-Pacific and the Afghan peace process figured prominently in talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday

Guterres appoints French diplomat Arnault as personal envoy on Afghanistan

UN chief Antonio Guterres has appointed veteran French diplomat Jean Arnault as his personal envoy on Afghanistan and regional issues, authorising him to liaise with regional countries on his behalf

'Tough' to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by May 1, says Joe Biden

President Joe Biden says that it will be tough for the US to meet a May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan but that the complete drawdown won't take much longer. The deadline to end America's longest war six weeks from now was set under an agreement reached by former President Donald Trump and the Taliban, without the buy-in of the Afghan government. Biden, in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that aired Wednesday, said he was consulting with allies on the pace of the drawdown. Of meeting the May 1 deadline, he said it could happen, but it is tough. If the deadline is extended, he added, it won't be by a lot longer. Biden, like his predecessor, has promised to end the nearly 20-year conflict and bring home more than 2,500 American troops in the country down from about 13,000 troops a year ago. The Trump deal caught some American allies off guard, as the roughly 7,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan rely on the US for logistics and security support. That was

Working closely with Afghan parties for political settlement, ceasefire: US

The US is working closely with Afghan parties to encourage progress on a political settlement and a comprehensive ceasefire, the Biden Administration said

Blinken writes to Ghani for UN-led meeting on Afghan peace process

Blinken wrote to Afghan President Ghani proposing a UN-led peace conference with representatives of six countries including India to discuss a "unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan"

US to support diplomatic solution to achieve Afghan political settlement

The United States is seeking to support a diplomatic solution to help Afghans achieve a political settlement and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, the Biden administration said on Wednesday. The State Department said Special US Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has concluded three days of consultations in Kabul with government officials, civil society and women leaders, and other Afghan political figures. "With all parties, I outlined our focus on Afghanistan, diplomacy, and garnering wider international support in order to help Afghans make more rapid progress on the peace process, Khalilzad said in a tweet. The Islamic Republic and the Taliban must find a path to a political settlement and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire. In Kabul, I discussed various options/alternatives to propel the process forward, Khalilzad said. This is an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news ..

Biden administration to resume talks with Taliban, India to watch closely

US State Department has announced the resumption of talks with Taliban as the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad is set to visit Kabul, Doha and other regional capitals

Afghanistan: UN says civilian casualties down by 15 per cent last year

President Joe Biden''s administration is reviewing the U.S.-Taliban peace deal that was signed February 29 last year

Afghanistan peace talks resume, path forward is anything but certain

The priority for the Afghan government, Washington and NATO is a serious reduction in violence leading to a cease fire

Blinken, Abdullah Abdullah discuss ways to accelerate Afghan peace process

The intra-Afghan peace negotiations began in the Qatari capital of Doha on September 12

No hasty withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan: US Defence Secretary

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the US will not undertake a hasty or disorderly withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, stressing that violence must decrease now in the war-torn country

Pak FM expresses concern over current level of violence in Afghanistan

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday expressed concern over the current level of violence in Afghanistan and urged all sides to take measures towards a ceasefire in the war-torn country. He was talking to Afghan leader Ahmed Wali Massoud, who is head of Massoud Foundation and is visiting Pakistan, according to the Foreign Office (FO). During the meeting, the two focused on the Afghan Peace Process and Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations. The foreign minister expressed serious concern at the current level of violence and underscored that all sides must take measures for reduction in violence leading to ceasefire. He also underlined the need for being vigilant about the role of spoilers. Highlighting that Pakistan had no favourites in Afghanistan, Qureshi reiterated that Pakistan's message to all sides was to work together constructively for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan, which would open new vistas for trade, economic cooperation and regional ...

Kunduz: Afghan Army frees 23 security personnel from Taliban jail

The Taliban is yet to comment on the ANA rescue operations. More details are awaited

NATO chief dismisses early Afghan troop trainers pullout as deadline nears

President Joe Biden is reviewing his predecessor's 2020 deal with the Taliban, which includes a May 1 deadline for a final U.S. troop withdrawal

How to withdraw troops? NATO faces conundrum as it mulls Afghan pullout

An accelerated US drawdown over the past few months, led by the previous US administration, has signaled what may be in store for long-suffering Afghans